Adobe® Dreamweaver® CS5 Bible

Chapter 27. Using Audio on Your Web Page

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Digital audio fundamentals

• Music files overview

• MP3 mini-primer

• Linking and embedding sound

• Streaming audio

• Incorporating podcasts

Web sites tend to be divided into two categories: those totally without sound, and those that use a lot of it — there's not much middle ground. Many music and entertainment sites rely heavily on both streaming audio and downloadable audio files, such as MP3.

In this chapter, you learn how to use audio in the Web pages you design with Dreamweaver. You look at traditional digital audio formats such as AIFF and WAV, and how you can turn these into files suitable for publishing on the Web, in formats such as MP3 and RealAudio. You also examine music formats, such as standard MIDI files and QuickTime Music. Finally, you learn how to link to an individual podcast as well as a podcast feed.

Lest you forget that you're dreamweaving here, you also look at some Dreamweaver extensions you can use to get audio-enabled sites up and running in no time. But before you leap into those deep waters, it's a good idea to get an overview of digital audio and its place on the Web.

Essentially, there are three ways you can work with sound on the Web: you can link to an audio file, embed a plugin, or insert an audio-based SWF file. Here's the quick approach to all three methods, starting with linking to a sound file:

1. Select the text or image you want to use as a link.

2. From the Property inspector, click the Browse for File icon to ...